nimbex1970

port Canaveral we paid as we entered in May. It may have been $160 for the week, plus or minus 20 bucks.

That is very high. Unless your kids will have the time of their lives, needing water slides, skip it. There are plenty of activities for free, imho.

THank you everyone!

WOS, no white party in May 7-14 sailing, unless I missed it.

Mine didn't update either but I just sailed in May. Despite what they showed being wrong it was correct on my cruise and I received all the appropriate discounts and invites. I still don't have it fixed, and I'm tired of calling to get it corrected. They had it right on the ship and I don't know how. But I hope that info helps. Oh, don't bother with guest services either, they told me to call C&A again, lol.

Mine is still wrong after 6 months, three cruises and multiple calls. I just know when I sailed in May, they had my correct place in crown and anchor and I received all the correct benefits, invites and such. Meanwhile the app, still shows it doesn't have any idea what I have accumulated.

overcooked. Not a fan at all, but others may find it edible.. it's all subjective.

I had serious issues with it and had to keep reconnecting to the ship wifi. As Biker19 said connect all your folks to your app. Sometimes it would show messages but usually you had to keep looking to see if there were new ones. In my case (WOS), not everyone had my issues of connectivity as my card is a funky Alaskan one, I hate to suggest purchasing the wifi, but it would have helped for us. There is a voom desk that can assist your group as well. It was deck four on WOS, but you can find it on your ship.

The room service wings for 7.99$ delivery, got the BBQ and buffalo were definately excellent and an alternative as well, WINK

The wings at playmakers were excellent as well as the service on WOS in MAY. They were WAY underpriced imho and I found it a steal. As wing prices increase all over the US and distribution pipe lines, this is going to hit the prices on the cruise ship. So I happily pay the increase. Or do we demand the price of the cruise for others to subsidize our wing loving/eating venue? I think not. A good decision for RCCL, imho. I want to eat them, hence I pay more for the product I prefer.

Yes, we are those dang smokers. Any pictures of the small smoking area on the open deck (I think it's 15 or 16). Is it covered if there is rain? How is the smoking area in the casino? I understand that you need to be an active player to smoke in it, We generally only play craps and table etiquette is not to smoke at the craps table. Is there a craps table in the smoking section, I just cannot see smoking while playing. Or are we required to do slots? Thanks in advance for not smoke shaming me and my bad habit, I know, I know. Appreciate any info.

here for the journey, may you have the most excellent cruise!

THANK YOU! This is the one that I can never work with! So I bring my own, I once pushed the cork IN because I had lost the battle after it broke in half, lol

Ouch! for reference, can you share which cruise line has food that you prefer? Food is quite subjective and that was quite scathing!

Ok, so now I'm confused. Your table orders their protein, it's cooked and passed around on a plate for everyone to take the amount they wish and you can ask for more. So this is family style? I may sound weird, but 5 other folks handling said plate and taking food from them may not be for me. How are the sides handled? In hibachi, the cook puts your food on your plate, no one else touches it. I also like my beef fairly rare, so if I ask for it medium rare, do I get it that way? Thanks in advance.

ugh, have to be diamond on RCCL.

we regularly use viator and trip advisor for excursions. We do nothing through the ship. After careful perusing through reviews, we choose one. We also rent vehicles on our own as well. Note, if you do this, check to make sure the spare isn't FLAT. Thats for another thread. We make special note of the local time/vrs ship time and leave an hour extra (that includes travel time back to the port). So ship leaves at 6pm, we are back on port by 5pm. Also take note of the port information that is provided that includes a phone number to the port in case of emergency. Briefly: we had a flat tire in Aruba, and it was the port master that helped us get enterprise employees off their butt to change our tire and get us back in time. So that was our closest issue, but we are always well prepared to DIY.

edited, found my answer. Thanks for sharing

now that you mention it.. we didn't have issues on the WOS early May. We were able to get 2 chairs near the pool. The pool staff was making circles checking on chairs. I was super busy with the grandsons and didn't take much notice of it.

I'm not fighting with the cheapie opener that they provide to you, lol. We do bring our own. I have asked a bartender to open a bottle before without a corkage fee when I forgot this past january.

There are several bloggers out there that used to work on cruise ships as well as FB groups for people that work on the ships. The breakdown of how tips work is shared through these sites and others. Because it varies through cruise lines, I have no memory on the specifics. Only that there are several hands in the pot that share the tipping revenue.

get the specialty dinning package and avoid the MDR. Its NOT the same. I did not believe the reviews and I was wrong.

I love RCCL, but consider the princess cruise that you fly into. The ship is the hotel. you only sleep there. I just spent 7 nights in Kona, the hotels are crazy expensive. Princess is the best way to see the islands and decide which one you want to stay at longer for a land vacay.

yup, they share with the barbacks that stock, bring ice to them and provide back up in busy times. The bar backs can provide beers and some basic drinks, but not mix... so the tip jar is indeed shared. It flows down, but it all provides us with a great experience.

yup, agree, we tip 20% for service. If others don't, I just don't care. I'm on vacay and I pay for good service.